More guilty pleas in county corruption scandal

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH (WOIO) -

Two more figures in the Cuyahoga County corruption scandal pleaded guilty to charges they paid county officials for jobs.

Not only jobs, but one of the men, Samir Mohammad a right-hand man to former County Auditor Frank Russo, also steered tens of thousands of dollars in contracts to people who bribed him and who he funneled money to others for.

Sam Quasem, a former head of local Arab American Organization Cameo, admitted he paid money to get members of the organization county jobs and benefits.

Mohammad was named early on in the investigation as Public Employee 5, a guy who paid Frank Russo to try and get a better job.

Mohammad pleaded guilty to five counts, along with the bribery he confessed to tampering with a witness and lying to the FBI. He faces between 5 and 6 1/2 years in prison. Quasem faces a year and a half to two years.

They'll be sentenced on January 4.

Lacking new indictments, only two men remain to be tried in the corruption scandal. Former Ports Board member William Peto, who's expected to plead guilty and a last so-called big fish. Anthony O. Calabrese III whose trial is set for February.

Here in the city that's home to "University-6," as the University of Louisville is identified in a federal criminal complaint filed by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the feeling of devastation is exceeded only by anger and disbelief.

Here in the city that's home to "University-6," as the University of Louisville is identified in a federal criminal complaint filed by the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the feeling of devastation is exceeded only by anger and disbelief.